Dana Cup Participation

Dana Cup Hjøoring 19-29th July 2013 –

Our Experience by Aidan Pio Farrugia (team captain)

On arriving in Hjøoring Denmark after a three hour bus drive from the airport we were immediately accommodated to one of the rooms set for the participating teams located in a local primary school. The following morning we visited the center of Hjøoring as well as had a light training session to practice a few set pieces and improve both defending and attacking as a team. Afterwards our coach/teacher Mr. Godfrey Grima took us to the football pitches where the tournament was going to take place. It was something impressive to see over 80 full sizes natural grass pitches in one city!

On Sunday 21st July we participated in two friendly games against a Scottish and a Norwegian team, unfortunately losing 2-0 the first match, but then winning the second 4-3. Monday 22nd marked the start of the tournament with the opening ceremony taking place that evening which paraded over nine hundred and fourty teams taking part around the center of the Dana Cup and Hjøoring; this ceremony ended with all the participants being treated to a lovely concert. It was a huge experience for all of us meeting students from all around the world with different cultures and religions. This made our experience more enjoyable and a fruitful one apart from playing football as we had time to socially interact with lots of people coming from all the continents!

On Tuesday and Wednesday the opening rounds took place which saw our team placed third in the group after one draw (0-0), one win (9-0) and one loss (2-1). This meant that we had qualified for Cup B of the tournament. During the next two days we participated and qualified through the round of sixteen winning two other games (2-0) and (5-0) which led us to our final match, the quarter final. After being in the lead the game ended up in a 1-1 draw after an unfortunate mishap and a stretch of injuries. Penalties were taken directly after game but this saw the opposing team progressing forward while our Danish cup journey came to an end.

Apart from playing football we had an opportunity to visit Aalborg city centre, Aalborg Zoo and Farup Sommerland a very nice fun park in Denmark.

Finally we would like to thank the teachers who accompanied and made this dream come alive: Mr.Godfrey Grima, Mr.David Azzopardi, Ms. Vanessa Portanier Mifsud and Mr.Jean Pierre Portanier Mifsud whom without their enthusiasm and help this experience wouldn’t have been possible. And also it’s honorable to mention all the players who gave their all to make this experience worthwhile: Glenn Sultana, Luca Zammit, Isaac Micallef, Jurgen Sciriha, Tano Bugelli, Julian Camilleri, Fabien Lufi, Neil Micallef, Jake Cassar Ellis, Darren Zammit, Aidan Pio Farrugia (C), Adam Agius, Paul Zammit, Matthew Attard (GK), Kurt Cilia and Jordan Sciberras.